Prime News International.

By Martins Oloja This is the news from Aso Presidential Villa the old Lagos-Ibadan axis of the press nicknamed “Aso Rock’ in the heat of the bogeyman called June 12, 1993. Please, don’t get it twisted; a lot of arm-twisting has been going on inside the State House, Abuja. Decent sources have confirmed that some political battles have been raging beyond the Council Chambers General IBB, the then Head of State commissioned in May 1991 before he moved Nigeria’s capital from Lagos to Abuja on Thursday, December, 12, 1991. And so covert sources within the seat of power that I have covered for more than 27 years as a reporter, writer and editor have revealed to me that there is much more to the political statement the First Lady, Aisha Buhari made to the BBC than meets the eye. Insiders have told those who cared to ask pertinent questions that Hajia Aisha Buhari “didn’t talk to the BBC to spite her husband or to make her husband too small in the eye of the public”. It is unde...

The National Judicial Council on Friday rejected the suggestion by the Nigerian Bar Association to suspend serving judges who were among the seven arrested by the Department of State Services between October 8 and 9. The NJC, in a statement by its Acting Director, Information, Mr. Soji Oye, said it had no powers to suspend serving judges without investigating a petition accusing the affected judges of certain acts of misconduct. It said lawyers who were members of the NJC participated in the emergency meeting of the NJC where the raid on the houses and the arrest of judges were condemned. The NBA President, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the valedictory court session held in honour of a retiring Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Sotonye Denton-West. Mahmoud said at the event, “We therefore strongly recommend that, without prejudice to the innocence or otherwise of the Judges involved in the ongoing investigations, they ...

The last of the two justices of the Supreme Court arrested during the invasion of the residences of the justices of the court by the Department of State Security Service, DSS, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, yesterday accused the former governor of Rivers State and now, Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of masterminding the operatio Also Justice Ngwuta, in a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, said that Amaechi had approached him in 2013, where he asked him to set aside the election that produced  Mr. Ayo Fayose as governor of Ekiti State and replace him with the former governor of Ekiti State who is now the minister of Solid Minerals, Kayode Fayemi. He also said in the letter that Amaechi had also attempted to influence other Justices on the Rivers election panel. Ngwuta said: “My present plight started sometime between 2013 and 2014.  I represented the then Chief Justice of Nigeria in an event organi...

The Benin Crown Prince, HRH Ehenede, formerly the Edaiken of Uselu, has been named HRM Oba Ewuare II at Use,  the traditional royal naming site in Benin Kingdom. The new Oba would be presented to the public today in a grand ceremony. Ewuare was the name given to one of the greatest Obas of Benin Kingdom who ruled Benin Kingdom from 1440 to 1473 and transformed the city from a small hitherto conflict-ridden kingdom into a great well organized empire of about 500 towns and villages, conquering over 201 new towns which were annexed into the kingdom. Formerly known as Prince Ogun, Oba Ewuare (now to be addressed as Oba Ewuare I), was initially denied the throne as his brother usurped power and he was banished from the land. How did Oba Ewuare I ascend the throne of Benin Kingdom? Oba Ohen reigned in Benin from 1334 – 1370. The Iyase of Benin was murdered during his reign. Serious issues came up in the kingdom as a result of the murder of the Iyase. A rebellion...

In continuation of their government’s reign of impunity, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode’s wife, Precious Chikwendu was DETAINED for over FOUR HOURS with her 8 MONTHS old baby, Aragorn in Access Bank, Ajilosun Branch, Ado Ekiti today. Fani-Kayode’s wife was at the bank to withdraw money from her personal account, which has about N200,000 in it. She was DETAINED in the bank on the order of the EFCC! Even when her 8 MONTHS old baby was crying for food and water, she was held captive! It took the intervention of Governor Fayose who stormed the bank to free the woman while the EFCC officials that would have whisked her away were still being expected.

President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife has taken their fight to the streets. The love birds had disagreed on a number of issues. Firstly, President Buhari rejected governor Yari’s request to marry Zahra Buhari. Aisha reportedly backs Yari’s proposal. Secondly, Aisha Buhari openly lampooned her husband’s handling of the economy. The president reportedly cautioned his wife in private. Read Also: Aisha Buhari tackles husband on economic recession The third and most recent incident happened three days ago. Aisha Buhari traveled solo to UK and granted BBC an interview. This news house had published tidbits of that interview. The Federal Government mounted pressure on BBC not to air that interview. That interview is why President Buhari wants out of the relationship with Aisha. Before we get there, listen to how Aisha openly berated and warned her husband for the third time. “Some people are sitting down in their homes folding their arms only ...

In political terms, last week was supposed to be a fair one for President Muhammadu Buhari. At his inauguration a year and five months ago, he had pledged to rescue more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents since mid-April 2014. Last week, through a swap deal (and, perhaps, some cash payment), his administration secured the release of twenty-one of the young captives. It was a modest down payment on the president’s promissory note, but one that boosted the spirits both of Nigerians and sympathisers around the world. President Buhari was on a state visit to Germany when the Chibok girls were released. If everything were equal, President Buhari might have taken a moment or two to bask in the limelight for what some reporters have characterised as a promising pathway to the release of the remaining victims of abduction. But last week was far from calm for the president. His wife, Aisha Buhari, had granted an interview to the Hausa Service of the Briti...